According to the East Midlands chamber of commerce, cyber attacks and data breaches are two of the greatest concerns for modern businesses.

Andy Watterson, Businesswatch manager and cyber crime lead at the East Midlands chamber of commerce, said: "Cyber crime is a rapidly-growing phenomenon of modern business and one that is very hard to stay one step ahead of.

"The potential for any organisation or individual to fall victim to increasingly clever cyber criminals gets bigger every day, corresponding exactly with the dependence on computers.

"But the threat is not just one of disruption, it's also the damage that can be done to corporate reputation and the huge financial penalties companies will face from next year when the European Union General Data Protection Regulations come into force."

Raising awareness of cyber threats plays a critical part in preventing them, Andy said, adding: "Companies are used to considering compliance, legal, fire and flood risks but have still not grasped the cyber risk.

"Staff working on computers are both the weakest link when it comes to cyber attacks and the last line of defence.

"If staff recognise the risks, ie, spotting and not opening suspicious emails, then the threat to their employer can be dramatically reduced, so training is crucial to corporate security."

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